I am an adult learner and I have come to realize that I have
special needs, as a student, that are worth considering to have a better
learning experience. A few weeks back, I
thought that I knew the best ways for me to learn, yet I didn’t know the
underlying why. I knew how I best memorized something, but not truly how I
learn something. I understood how to take
good notes and that by writing notes in the margins of articles or books, I was
reinforcing the information so that I could recall it later. It was memorization that I was more focused
on.
After reading more from Malcolm Knowles, the “father of andragogy”, I see that as
an adult learner, I best learn best when I can reflect on the information and
then try to make it relevant right away to a current situation. Here is Malcolm Knowles list of the five
factors that are very important in adult learning (Conlan, Grabowski, &
Smith, 2003).
According to the five assumptions, an adult learner as
someone who:
- Has an independent self-concept and who can direct his or her own
learning
- Has accumulated a reservoir of life experiences that is a rich
resource for learning
- Has learning needs closely related to changing social roles
- Is problem-centered and interested in immediate application of
knowledge
- Is motivated to learn by internal rather than external factors
When I look back on the
reasons why I chose to go back to school, this list proves to be true with
me. I thought I was externally motivated
to go back to school to get my MBA degree a few years back. Job requirements and getting the validation
for all the years of my corporate experience were what peaked my interest at
first. However, it was an internal
wanting to better myself and to get a deeper, formal education. Motivation for going back to school is that I
felt I was lacking something. There was
something missing and by getting my degree I would fill the gaps. Keeping
up with current knowledge and business trends were the outcome of my education
and I am glad I did it. So much so, that
I am continuing to get further education in Instructional Design.
Constructivism and
Cognitive Learning theories are best suited for the type of education that I am
seeking at this point in my life. Ormrod,
Schunk, & Gredler teach that in Constructivism theory, learning occurs
through forming and constructing our own ideas based on our own past experience. Learners create their own learning by
exploring ideas and by doing experimentation (2009). This is what I am doing when I am reflecting
on the information and putting it to immediate use in a way that is relevant to
me. Drawing on the past as a way to
implement the new learnings into future practice is what learning is all about
to me. Technology is , of course,
another important piece of the puzzle. There
is so much information to be found through the different weblogs , social
media, internet research tools that there is no question that can be given that
an answer cannot be found. I like the
blogs from Karl Kapp because there are so many other blogs that stem off from
there I find it a wealth of information.
Here is a link to the Kapp blog I like the most: http://www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2007/01/definition-constructivism/
References:
Conlan, J.,
Grabowski, S., & Smith, K.. (2003). Adult Learning. In M. Orey (Ed.),
Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved February
18, 2012, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Kapp, K. (2007) Definition:
Constructivism.[Blog post].
Retrieved from http://www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2007/01/definition-constructivism/
Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning
theories and instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York: Pearson
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